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The  Spanish  Press  of  California 

1833^(844 


THE   SPANISH   PRESS  OF  CALIFORNIA.* 


C2^ 


(1833-1844.) 
By  Robert  E.iCowAN.  ~  ^_- 

^  c7 


Unlike  the  earlier  colonies  of  Spain,  California  was  one 


of  the  latest  to  establish  the  printing-press.     Although      .   Ci /^  ^ 
dating  back  in  Mexico  to  1538,  in  Manila  to  1590,  and    /    /  ' 

in  Peru  to  about  1600,  in  California  it  is  not  known  that  )/\yi  zl-^^ 
any  printing  was  done  until  1833,  sixty-four  years  after  /  * 
its  first  colonization.  This  want  of  progress  may  be  ref- 
erable to  the  fact  that  California  was  settled  by  the  Fran- 
ciscan padres,  whereas  in  the  other  colonies  the  Jesuit 
was  usually  the  pioneer.  The  latter,  deeply  learned, 
versed  in  books,  and  a  firm  believer  in  the  making  of 
more,  —  such,  at  least,  as  were  sanctioned  by  the  Church, 
—  apparently  carried  the  press  with  him,  for  the  interval 
from  his  arrival  until  the  doctrine  was  issued  in  a  printed 
form  was  very  brief  indeed.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Franciscan,  equally  zealous,  it  is  true,  but  living  a  quiet, 
pastoral  life,  was  content  with  the  saving  of  heathen  souls 
through  his  patient  teachings,  without  considering  it 
vital  or  necessary  that  his  neophyte  need  even  read  at 
all.  A  more  probable  factor  would  be,  that  many  of  the 
Indians,  particularly  those  of  the  southern  part  of  the 
country,  from  their  proximity  to  the  numerous  tribes 
along  the  Rio  Colorado,  where  the  missionaries  then  had 
been  for  many  years,  already  spoke  some  Spanish.  This, 
then,  obviated  the  necessity  of  studying  the  native  dialect, 
or  the  preparation  of  grammar  or  vocabulary,  which  was 
always  one  of  the  earliest  duties  of  the  Jesuit  missionary. 
No  linguistic  works  of  any  kind,  other  than  those  in  the 
prevailing  language,  —  Spanish,  —  were  ever  issued  from 
the  press  in  California  during  Spanish  and  Mexican  rule. 
Furthermore,  the  Spanish  Californian  had  no  particular 

*  Reprinted  from  the  California  Historic-Genealogical  Society  Publication  III. 


\C,{^-i\(i 


The  Spanish  Press  of  California.  11 

education,  nor  was  he  a  writer,  —  that  is,  of  other  than 
his  official  documents,  and  these  were,  for  the  most  part, 
circulated  among  the  officials  only.  The  ordinary  indi- 
vidual lived  on  his  rancho,  if  he  had  one,  and  if  he  was 
without  one,  the  government  stood  ready  at  all  times  to 
make  him  a  grant  of  land  upon  his  application  therefor. 
For  himself,  he  need  neither  read  nor  write.  All  that 
was  necessary  was  to  find  a  suitable  piece  of  unoccupied 
territory,  present  himself  before  the  magistrate  of  the 
jurisdiction  in  which  he  lived,  and  state  his  request, 
whereupon  the  magistrate  drew  up  a  description  of  the 
piece  of  land  desired,  and  a  description  of  the  individual 
himself,  presented  it  to  the  governor,  who  presently  con- 
firmed the  requested  grant.  After  this,  if  he  were  not  an 
official  of  some  sort,  about  all  the  owner  ever  did  was  to 
ride  his  horse,  smoke  his  cigarrito,  drink  aguardiente, 
enjoy  his  siesta,  and  live  as  a  gentleman  generally.  In 
the  mean  time,  the  Indians,  aided  by  a  fertile  soil,  kept 
his  rancho  under  tillage,  and  his  cattle  numbered  hun- 
dreds, sometimes  thousands.  He  had  neither  time  nor 
inclination  to  read,  nor  his  family  under  him,  and  the 
few  books  that  were  to  be  found  were  invariably  brought 
from  Mexico. 

However  reasonable  or  conjectural  these  surmises  may 
be,  it  is  quite  certain  that  no  printing  was  done  in  Cali- 
fornia until  the  year  1833,  nor  is  there  any  reference 
thereto  among  the  Archives.  Early  in  January  of  that 
year,  Jose  Figueroa  came  from  Mexico  to  Monterey, 
where  he  immediately  assumed  office  as  governor  of  Cali- 
fornia. He  had  caused  to  be  brought  with  him  a  hand- 
press  and  a  small  quantity  of  type.  The  whole  plant  was 
a  somewhat  primitive  affair,  for  the  printing  shows  the 
type  to  have  been  very  poor,  and  the  earliest  printing  was 
done  on  what  is  technically  termed  a  hand-press.  Ban- 
croft states  that  this  press  was  brought  to  establish  an 


12  The  Spanish  Press  of  California. 

office  for  the  printing  of  cards  and  official  circulars,  and 
perhaps  also  as  a  novel  curiosity. 

The  very  earliest  specimen  of  printing  executed  in 
California  does  not  mark  any  distinct  epoch  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  art  itself,  for  printing,  to  be  at  all  legible, 
could  not  very  well  be  worse.  The  type,  from  its  appear- 
ance, would  seem  to  have  been  some  second-hand  mate- 
rial gathered  up  in  Mexico.  The  work  of  the  unknown 
printer  went  quite  well  with  the  type,  for  he  seems  to 
have  known  little  or  nothing  about  his  business.  The 
devil  in  a  modern  shop  is  a  skilled  workman  by  com- 
parison, and  he  seems  only  to  invite  and  encourage 
abuse.  This  document  is  printed  on  one  side  of  a  small 
sheet,  six  by  seven  inches  in  size,  and  the  printed  matter 
is  nine  lines  only.*  It  is  an  official  address  by  Governor 
Figueroa  on  his  arrival  in  California,  and  is  worded  in 
the  magnificent  style  so  much  beloved  by  the  Spanish 
official,  be  his  office  what  it  may.  As  a  specimen  of  ele- 
gant composition  this  proclamation  is  of  some  consider- 
able merit,  but  as  a  piece  of  printing  it  is  unquestionably 
beneath  contempt.  The  lines  are  set  up  unevenly,  sev- 
eral letters  have  fallen  out  altogether,  and  the  ink,  spread 
lightly  on  one  side,  is  daubed  heavily  on  the  other.  How- 
ever, a  collector  would  readily  overlook  these  trifling  de- 
ficiencies, and  would  be  very  apt  even  to  enthuse  over 
them.  In  this  he  would  be  justified  thoroughly  by  one 
feature,  for  the  specimen  is  one  of  a  very  limited  edition. 

Who  was  the  first  printer  of  California  is  not  definitely 
known.  It  has  long  been  popularly  supposed  that  Jose 
de  la  Rosa  was,  but  for  this  there  is  no  authority,  beyond 
the  statements  of  writers  of  newspaper  and  magazine 
articles.  As  already  mentioned,  the  earliest  printing 
executed    in    California    bears    the  date   of  January    IG, 

*  Figueroa,  Josi-  (Governor  of  Californiii) :  Atiuncia  d  los  Californios  su  Uegada. 
Monterey :  16  dc  Encro  de  1833. 


The  Spanish  Press  of  California.  13 

1833.  From  the  most  authentic  accounts,  we  find  that 
De  la  Rosa  came  to  California  with  the  Hijar  and  Padres 
Cosmopolitan  Colonization  Company,  which  did  not 
arrive  until  August,  1834.  The  sole  printed  specimen  of 
the  press  during  the  year  1833  does  not  bear  the  name 
of  the  printer,  and  has  no  imprint  of  any  kind.  In  1834, 
before  the  arrival  of  Jose  de  la  Rosa,  Agustin  V.  Zamo- 
rano  began  to  operate  his  press,  and  all  the  specimens 
therefrom  bear  his  name.  The  typ3  used  by  him  differs 
from  that  used  by  the  printer  of  1833.  The  first  printer, 
then,  unless  perhaps  Zamorano,  who  was  at  that  time  in 
Monterey,  must,  for  the  want  of  definite  proofs,  remain 
fqr  the  present  in  obscurity.  If  an  impossibility  that  he 
could  have  been  the  first,  Jose  de  la  Rosa  was  apparently 
the  last  printer  in  California,  so  far  as  the  Spanish  press 
is  concerned. 

Agustin  Vicente  Zamorano,  it  is  stated,  came  from 
Florida,  his  parents  being  Spanish.  Concerning  his 
early  life,  other  than  that  he  received  a  good  education, 
nothing  is  known  until  1821,  when  he  entered  the  army 
as  a  cadet.  He  came  to  California  with  Governor  Eche- 
andia  in  1825,  and  for  five  years  served  him  in  the  capa- 
city of  secretary.  In  1827  he  married  a  daughter  of  San- 
tiago Argiiello,  and  continuing  in  the  military  service,  he 
rose  gradually  till  he  attained  the  rank  of  "  comandante 
of  the  north."  Upon  the  arrival,  in  1833,  of  Governor 
Figueroa,  Zamorano,  until  1835,  served  as  his  secretary, 
and  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  captain  of  the  presidio, 
conducted  from  1834  to  1836  the  government  printing- 
office.  After  this  date  his  name  does  not  appear  on  any 
production  of  the  press,  and  his  further  movements  until 
1842  are  unknown,  except  that  in  this  latter  year  he 
returned  to  California  with  Micheltorena,  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  inspector.  He  lived  but  a  short  time  after 
his  return,  dying  in  August,  1842.     His  contemporaries 


14  The   Spanish  Press  of  California. 

speak  of  him  as  a  man  of  much  ability,  honor,  and  en- 
ergy. His  conduct  was  exemplary,  but  he  was  ambitious, 
having  been,  in  1837,  an  unsuccessful  aspirant  for  the 
governorship  of  California. 

The  Citizen  Santiago  Aguilar,  as  his  imprints  read, 
was  the  next  of  the  printers  of  California.  Of  his  career 
in  California  not  very  much  is  known,  and  he  did  not 
figure  very  prominently  in  public  life.  That  he  must 
have  been  of  intense  democratic  principles,  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  in  two  of  the  proclamations  printed  by 
him,  he  indulges  in  the  peculiarity  of  printing  upside 
down  the  word  "aristocrata."  That  this  was  quite  inten- 
tional is  clearly  shown,  for  a  period  of  several  months 
elapsed  between  the  publication  of  the  two  broadsides. 
He  operated  the  press  during  the  latter  part  of  1836  and 
in  1837. 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  1837,  for  some  reason  not 
well  known,  the  press  was  removed  to  Sonoma,  where  it 
was  directly  under  the  supervision  of  General  Mariano 
Guadalupe  Vallejo.  Who  the  printer  was  does  not  appear, 
but  during  his  lifetime  the  General  frequently  stated  that 
he  sometimes  did  the  press-work  himself. 

Jose  de  la  Rosa,  the  last  of  his  calling  in  California, 
was  born  in  Puebla,  Mexico,  January  5,  1790.  His  was 
a  curious  career.  He  was  engaged  in  many  vocations, 
having  been  a  tailor,  watchmaker,  printer,  bookbinder, 
and  editor.  He  had  been  educated,  also,  for  the  priest- 
hood, but  never  had  been  ordained.  As  before  men- 
tioned, he  came  to  California  in  1834,  and  bore  a  com- 
mission from  Santa  Ana,  authorizing  him  to  do  the  gov- 
ernmental and  ecclesiastical  printing.  He  started  his 
office  in  Monterey,  and  did  all  of  the  work  himself.  The 
date  of  the  establishment  of  his  press  is  not  known,  and 
his  name  does  not  seem  to  have  appeared  on  any  produc- 
tion before  1844.    In  later  life  he  lived  in  the  city  of  San 


The  Spanish  Press  of  California.  15 

Buenaventura,  where  he  was  a  well-known  character. 
Not  the  least  remarkable  feature  of  his  strangely  check- 
ered life  was  the  great  age  he  attained,  for  he  died  as 
recently  as  1892,  having  reached  the  extraordinary  age 
of  102  years.  A  celebration  of  his  one-hundredth  birth- 
day, given  him  by  the  residents,  among  whom  he  had 
lived  many  years,  shows  the  esteem  and  respect  in  which 
he  was  held  by  his  fellow-citizens.  Some  years  before, 
he  had  written  his  recollections,  and  intrusted  them  to  a 
friend  for  publication,  but  the  friend  lost  them,  and  they 
were  neither  found  nor  ever  rewritten,  —  one  more  link 
of  the  many  in  the  history  of  California  dropped  for- 
ever. 

The  productions  of  these  various  presses  were  for  the 
greater  part  proclamations  printed  in  broadside  form, — 
that  is,  generally  on  one  side  of  a  single  sheet,  varying  in 
size  from  sheets  eight  by  twelve  inches  to  eighteen  by 
twenty-four.  Nearly  all  were  official  in  character.  The 
few  exceptions  were  such  23ublications  as  the  notice  issued 
by  Zamorano  concerning  the  opening  of  his  printing- 
office  and  appending  his  scale  of  prices;  an  invitation  to 
the  ball  given  by  Governor  Figueroa  in  1834;  and  a  poeti- 
cal effusion  of  a  moral  and  religious  nature,  —  a  somewhat 
indifferent  composition,  —  issued  by  Vallejo  at  Sonoma. 

The  official  documents,  in  character  and  contents,  were, 
generally  speaking,  in  that  diction  peculiar  to  the  Spanish 
official  of  that  and  all  other  periods.  Nearly  all  are 
worded  in  the  most  grandiloquent  manner.  Whether  the 
proclamation  be  of  two  sheets  or  only  half  a  dozen  lines, 
they  are  all  one;  for  each  contains  sentiments  of  the 
loftiest  patriotism,  the  most  flowery  rhetoric,  mingled 
with  the  most  magnanimous  offers  and  promises  of  un- 
paralleled generosity.  Truly,  the  political  complexion  of 
California  has  remained  unchanged.* 

♦Bancroft:  History  of  California,  iii. 


16  The  Spanish  Press  of  California. 

A  sample  or  two  is  appended.  I  quote  from  General 
Vallejo,  announcing  to  the  citizens  his  platform  upon 
being  created  comandante:  — 

'■^ Felloiu-Citizens:  The  sovereign  legislative  assembly  of 
the  free  state  of  Alta  California  calls  me  to  its  aid,  and 
I  obey  its  supreme  determination,  putting  myself  at  the 
head  of  the  brave  men  who  surround  me,  and  accepting 
the  Comandancia  General  for  the  public  welfare,  whose 
slave  alone  I  am.  Yes,  fellow-citizens,  I  swear  to  you 
before  God,  I  would  promise  to  secure  your  happiness, 
if,  as  my  soul  abounds  in  love  for  the  country,  my  knowl- 
edge were  sufficient  to  second  my  good  intentions  and  the 
purity  of  my  desires.  Yet  I  will  strive  to  that  end,  and 
I  will  succeed  in  showing  that  I  am  a  citizen  who  loves 
the  liberty  of  a  country  so  often  outraged  with  impunity. 
If  I  succeed,  my  reward  will  be  the  Avellbeing  of  the 
sovereign  people  to  whom  I  have  the  honor  to  belong: 
but  if  it  may  not  be  so,  my  fitting  recompense  will 
be  a  cold  stone,  which,  confounding  me  among  insen- 
sible things,  shall  proclaim,  Here  lies  a  Calif ornian  who 
yielded  to  Death,  rather  than  to  Tyranny."  * 

One  more  extract,  from  one  of  the  proclamations  of 
Governor  Micheltorena:  — 

^'■Fellow-Citizens:  The  calamitous  scourge  of  intestine 
wars,  which  fortunately  had  fixed  itself  out  of  this  De- 
partment some  years  since,  was  to  visit  with  its  destroy- 
ing contagion,  developing  itself  in  a  political  movement, 
which  happened  in  the  vicinity  of  this  capital  on  the  15tli 
ultimo:  the  arms  which  the  Supreme  Government  has 
confided  to  my  care  to  resolutely  preserve  order,  would 
have  been  employed  with  energy  to  stifle  this  event  in  its 
cradle  —  leaving  in  tears  and  mourning  a  great  many 
families,  if  ...  I  had  not  given  to  the  voice  of  reason 

*  Bancroft:  History  of  California,  lii. 


The  Spanish  Press  of  California.  17 

and  humanity  a  preferable  hearing  than  to  the  horrible 
booming  of  the  cannon.  Yes,  fellow-citizens,  ...  I  flew 
to  the  front  of  those  who  led  the  movement,  —  not  as 
their  tyrant,  but  as  the  best  of  their  friends,  and  as  the 
pilot  who  only  aspires  to  save  the  ship  from  the  storm, 
even  without  regard  to  personal  danger.  .  .  .  This  frank 
conduct  will  always  be  the  north  star  of  my  procedure, 
and  the  gentle  character  which  with  pleasure  I  see  adorns 
the  Californians  has  had  the  result  of  causing  the 
alarmed  citizens  to  retire  to  the  circle  of  their  families, 
leaving  to  the  Government  of  the  Department  the  time  to 
occupy  itself  in  procuring  the  happiness  and  welfare  of 
its  people,  and  to  prove  that  he  who  has  the  satisfaction 
of  presiding  over  them,  among  all  the  classes  and  profes- 
sions of  those  that  compose  the  same,  is  the  most  sincere 
and  enthusiastic  of  their  friends."  * 

This  reads  not  unlike  political  documents  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  more  especially  those  known  as  campaign  docu- 
ments. This  patriotic  outburst  on  the  part  of  Governor 
Micheltorena  was  without  the  desired  effect,  however,  for 
early  in  1845  the  enraged  citizens  expelled  him  from 
California,  in  the  annals  of  which  he  is  known  no  further. 
This,  also,  was  the  last  printed  document  issued  from  the 
Spanish  press. 

The  entire  number  of  the  printed  broadsides,  procla- 
mations, orders,  etc.,  issued  from  the  press  during  the 
dozen  years  of  its  existence  was  not  large,  for  the  different 
specimens  altogether  are  barely  over  fifty.  Of  the  indi- 
vidual number  of  each  printed  there  are  no  data,  but  it 
could  not  have  been  over  one  hundred,  and  in  many 
cases  doubtless  was  considerably  less.  Of  the  copies  that 
are  extant,  specimens  of  nearly  all  are  in  the  Bancroft 

*  Micheltorena,  Manuel.  Conciudadanos :  El  calainitosa  azote  de  las  guerras,  etc. 
Monterey:  Die.  16, 1844.  Impr.  del  Gob.  fi,  cargo  de  Ciud.  Josd  de  la  Rosa.  Broadside, 
iolio.    In  V.  Dept.,  State  Papers,  610. 


18  The  Spanish  Press  of  California. 

library  and  in  the  United  States  surveyor-general's  of- 
fice at  San  Francisco.  A  few  are  in  the  State  Univer- 
sity, and  a  very  few  are  in  private  hands,  but,  generally, 
they  are  unknown. 

The  books  printed  on  this  press  are  much  less  numer- 
ous. In  his  Essays  and  Miscellany,  Mr.  Bancroft  states 
conclusively  that  they  are  only  seven  in  number.  For 
this  statement  he  has  based  his  authority,  no  doubt,  upon 
the  fact  that  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had  been  en- 
gaged in  gathering  up  his  historical  material,  and  after  so 
long  a  time  and  so  extensive  research,  he  concluded,  per- 
haps, and  not  without  good  reasons,  that  no  more  were 
to  be  found.  However  this  may  be,  the  writer  of  this 
present  article  had  in  his  possession,  until  recently,  four 
books  printed  in  Monterey  between  the  years  1836  and 
1843,  the  very  existence  of  which  Mr.  Bancroft  knew 
nothing,  and  three  of  which  are  not  known  to  exist  else- 
where, being  possibly  unique.  However,  to  avoid  further 
error,  we  will  only  assume  that  the  chances  of  finding 
duplicates  are  rather  remote.  This,  then,  at  the  present 
time,  would  make  the  number  of  volumes  eleven  in  all, 
eight  of  which  were  printed  in  Monterey,  anl  the  re- 
maining three  in  Sonoma.  The  first  book  to  be  printed 
in  California  was  the  Reglamento  Provisional,  or  Provis- 
ional Rules  for  the  Government  of  Upper  California, 
issued  by  Governor  Figueroa,  and  printed  on  the  press  of 
Zamorano  at  Monterey,  under  the  date  of  1834.  It  is  a 
small  affair,  4i  by  5^  inches  in  size,  and  consists  of  title 
and  sixteen  pages.  The  most  pretentious  work  is  the 
Manifiesto  of  Figueroa  to  the  Mexican  Republic.  This 
bears  the  date  of  1835,  also  from  the  press  of  Zamorano, 
and  is  a  12mo  of  184  pages.  The  presswork  is  about 
the  best  of  the  lot,  but  even  the  best  is  of  a  somewhat  low 
grade  of  excellence.  Of  these  eleven  little  books,  four 
are  of  a  political   or   military   nature,  one  is  a   medical 


The  Spanish  Press  of  California.  19 

work,  and  six  are  school  books.  Four  of  the  latter  bear 
no  imprint,  other  than  Monterey  and  the  date.  The 
school  books  are  small,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
elsewhere  more  wretched  specimens  of  printing  than  some 
of  them.  One  of  them,  issued  at  Monterey,  in  1843,  by 
an  unknown  printer,  consists  of  title  and  67  pages,  and 
is  four  by  six  inches  in  size.  It  is  the  worst  of  the  lot. 
The  type  is  battered  and  broken,  letters  and  syllables  in 
some  places  have  dropped  out,  and  it  is  discouraging  to 
find,  at  the  end,  three  solid  pages  of  corrections.  The 
most  unfortunate  feature  is  that  this  pamphlet  bears  the 
title  Compendio  de  la  Gramdtica*  This  grammar  was  pre- 
pared and  printed  presumably  for  the  same  purpose  as 
that  expressed  on  the  title  of  another  of  these  small  books: 
"For  the  use  of  those  who  aspire  to  learn"  (the  lan- 
guage).! The  road  to  knowledge  is  not  royal,  it  is  true, 
but  its  course  might  be  more  smooth  than  through  this 
book. 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  total  output  of  the  press  in 
the  eleven  years  of  its  existence  was,  in  books  and  broad- 
sides, about  sixty  in  number.  The  press,  however,  was 
by  no  means  as  idle  as  might  be  supposed.  The  Spanish 
officials  had  a  most  extraordinary  fondness  for  writing, 
and  all  official  documents  were  drafted  on  what  was 
termed  sealed  paper,  or  stamped  paper  which  bore  the 
printed  heading  of  the  office,  whether  that  of  governor, 
justice,  or  otherwise.  Between  the  surveyor-general's 
office  and  the  Bancroft  library,  there  are  many  thou- 
sands of  these  documents  with  the  printed  headings;  so 
the  press  was  kept  reasonably  busy,  —  perhaps,  judging 

*  Compendia  de  la  Gramdtica.  Monterey:  1843.  pp.  67  (3),  including  title. 
(Cowan.) 

t  Tablas  para  los  Ninos  que  Empiezan  d  Contar.  Monterey:  1836.  Imprenta  de 
A.  v.  Zamorano.  Border  around  title.  Ten  unnumbered  leaves,  of  which  the  last 
is  blank  on  the  reverse.  Size,  2^  by  3%  inches.  (Only  copy  known,  until  recently 
in  the  possession  of  the  writer,  is  now  in  the  library  of  A.  S.  MacDonald,  Esq.,  of 
Oakland,  California.) 


20  The  Spanish  Press  of  California. 

from  the  appearance  of  a  deal  of  the  work,  the  ofhee  was, 
at  times,  even  "rushed." 

With  the  overthrow  of  Governor  Micheltorena  the  work 
of  the  Spanish  press  came  to  an  end.  It  had  been  popu- 
lar during  his  administration,  for  Micheltorena  was  a 
notoriously  lazy  man,  who  did  but  little  writing,  and 
when  he  did,  he  invariably  abbreviated  his  surname,  and 
his  rubric,  which  was  one  of  the  dearest  possessions  of 
the  Spanish  official,  was,  in  his  case,  merely  a  double 
pen-scratch  without  ornament  or  character. 

Pio  Pico,  who  succeeded  Micheltorena  as  governor 
early  in  1845,  had  no  need  of  a  printer.  He  was  a  writer, 
and  his  secretary,  Olvera,  was  a  scribe  of  most  prodigious 
powers.  There  is  no  better  evidence  of  this  than  a  proc- 
lamation issued  by  Governor  Pico,  which  was  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  the  writer  of  this  article,  and  now 
preserved  in  the  State  University  at  Berkeley.  It  is  en- 
tirely in  MS.,  being  a  foot  and  a  half  wide  and  about 
five  feet  in  length.  There  appears  to  be  nothing  in  the 
Archives  relative  to  the  abolishment  of  the  printing-office; 
but  in  the  presence  of  such  colossal  work  as  that  MS. 
proclamation,  Jose  de  la  Rosa,  the  last  of  his  craft  under 
Spanish  rule,  could  foresee  that  his  services  were  to  be 
in  demand  no  longer,  so,  after  closing  his  printing-office 
early  in  1845,  he  retired  to  pursue  quietly  one  of  his 
numerous  professions,  and  thus  ended  the  last  chapter  of 
the  history  of  the  Spanish  press  in  California. 


I          II-: 


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14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


25Nov'58CSf 


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